By Paul Zollo
With the release of her group's new album, the future is brighter than ever for SHeDAISY songwriter Kristyn Osborn
There's something special, something both intimate and visceral, in the sound of siblings singing together. It's the sound of a shared musical soul, a sound definitely present in the sound of SHeDAISY, three sisters from Magna, Utah, "a little humble, mining town," according to Kristyn Osborn, the songwriter for the trio, which also consists of her sisters Kelsi and Kassidy. Their new album, Fortuneteller's Melody, was gloriously produced by John Shanks, the Grammy-winning songwriter-producer who has worked with Melissa Etheridge, Sheryl Crow, Keith Urban and others.
As a child, Kristyn would harmonize with her sisters in the car, but Kelsi and Kassidy joined up as a duo first. Kristyn, who wrote poems and stories as a kid, instead pursued a career in journalism. She started writing songs as a lark, and her father secretly entered two of her demos in the MidAtlantic Songwriting Contest. She won � both for Best Country Song, and Best Song overall. Kristyn's heightened confidence encouraged her to continue writing more songs. Eventually she united with her duo sisters to form music group SHeDAISy, derived from the Navajo word for 'little sister'.
Raised by their parents on the "three Bs � Beach Boys, Beatles and Beethoven," Kristyn received a diverse musical education early on. "My parents didn't like country music," she says. "But there were a lot of cowboy hats and jacked-up trucks in Magna. So I started listening to country � I liked Earl Thomas Conley, Alabama, The Judds." She abandoned her piano skills and at twenty switched to guitar when she realized "it was too hard to go to a writing appointment and bring a piano."
The family moved to Nashville, and with their father's help, the sisters landed a record deal with RCA, but the album was never released, and they lost the deal. "That album was missing something," Kristyn says, "and it taught me a lesson... We didn't stand up for ourselves because we were so young. We were told to do a song, and we did it. There were only three of our songs on there."
The girls persisted and soon landed a new deal with Lyric Street Records, who released their first official album, The Whole Shebang, in 1998. The album was a triumph, spending 99 weeks on the Billboard Top Country Albums chart, and garnering several Grammy nominations.
Now comes Fortuneteller's Melody, which extends the ebullient harmonic spirit of their first work, while also charting some new territory. The album takes the listener on a journey, as Kristyn explained: "You start with the first phase of a relationship, and you follow this character through twists and turns � you go through the highs and lows, the struggle, coming to terms with the way things are." One of the most poignant passages of that voyage is "Healing Side," a song written with Shanks and Sheryl Crow. "That was a great experience for me," she says. "It was a challenge, but I didn't want to pass up a John and Sheryl cowrite� John and she did the music together, and then I wrote the lyrics to the track, which I'd never done before. It forced me to really listen, listen, listen. To pay attention to what I was hearing when I listened to this music. I wanted to make sure I did the music justice, because it's a really beautiful track."
The song is so close to her that it's difficult for her to hear. "That song is very sensitive for me," she says, "because I felt that's where I was in life. It's a raw emotion that I tapped into when writing. It's a calm moment on the record. I like those moments, when you get to breathe."
Another highlight of the album is "In Terms of Love," co-written with country legend Don Schlitz. "He is a master at his craft," says Kristyn. "Writing with him was a great experience. We learned from each other � I pushed his boundaries, and he challenged me to simplify things. We'd both gone through bitter divorces, and that song really captured a place we were both in."
Kristyn saw co-writing with fast-pace John Shanks as an exciting new challenge. "He took me out of my comfort zone," she says. "It was quick. That's not the way we do it in Nashville. I walked out of his studio with a finished song, and a finished track. He knows what he's doing." She and Shanks have a harmonious relationship, she says: "We're almost like a brother and sister in the studio � it can be combative, but we know we will respect each other at the end of the session."
Considering her dual-talent as a singer and a songwriter, the idea of a solo career, sans sisters, is not outlandish. But she's demure upon inquiry, saying, "I'm devoted to SHeDAISY, and to my sisters. But I've thought about doing side-projects, and I like writing with other people � I have been writing a lot with Jann Arden � she's great, and we have a wonderful partnership. Our songs are not really right for the group. They might be good for a film or TV project. I don't want to just be a singer-songwriter. I want to write a lot of songs for a lot of different projects, not just for my group. The chance to do all of it is what excites me about my job. And you know," she says brightly, "it's a pretty great job."
